Midweek Announcements for January 12

Schedule for the Coming Week at Resurrection Church

Sunday, January 15

10:00 a.m. – Worship: Rev. Dr. Sarah Colvin, former Rector at Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, presiding.
1:00 p.m. – Finnish Lutheran Congregation worship service in the Sanctuary.

Sunday, January 22

10:00 a.m. – Worship: Pastor George Detweiler of the Southeast Pennsylvania Synod presiding.
11:30 a.m. – Annual Congregation Meeting and potluck luncheon in the Parish Hall.

Sunday Supply Pastors

Our superb group of guest clergy continues to lead our worship services, with Rev. Dr. Sarah Colvin, the former Rector at Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Vashon Island, Washington, returning to preside and preach this Sunday, January 15. We are honored to have Pastor George Detweiler of the Southeast Pennsylvania Synod presiding on January 22, followed on January 29 by Pastor Allen Dayal of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church of India and a graduate student at Virginia Theological Seminary.

In February, we look forward to the return of Prof. Shawn Strout of Virginia Theological Seminary on February 5, followed by Pastor Gordon Lathrop on February 12 and Rev. Tiina Talvitie, Pastor of the New York Finnish Lutheran Congregation, on February 19.

Congregation COVID Protections

The latest available assessment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorizes Arlington County’s COVID-19 community level as “low.” As a result, the wearing of protective masks at Resurrection will remain optional based on the criteria previously approved by the Congregation Council. The Reopening Planning Group continues to monitor the county’s COVID-19 level based on the CDC assessment, but it plans to consider proposing a revision to Resurrection’s masking criteria based on more local information – congregation members are encouraged to provide suggestions on criteria to Jeanne Broyhill.

Congregants are also reminded to maintain appropriate distances when sitting in pews, sharing the peace of Christ and taking communion, and to wash hands and use sanitizers in church. Our pastors, communion assistants, and ushers will continue to wear masks when welcoming those attending services and in distributing Holy Communion. The wearing of masks in Sunday School will continue to be guided by parents’ feedback. Congregants are also encouraged to keep up to date with vaccinations, and anyone not feeling well should stay home and access the livestream feed of worship services.

Annual Congregation Meeting

Resurrection will convene its in-person annual congregation meeting following the worship service on Sunday, January 22. It is very important for congregation members to attend in order to provide a quorum for the adoption of the 2023 operating and capital budgets and the election of new members of our Congregation Council, so please make plans to attend and participate. Copies of the 2022 Annual Report will be available in the Narthex this Sunday, January 15.

Restoring a long-standing Resurrection tradition, our annual meeting will be preceded by a potluck lunch coordinated by the Fellowship Committee under Tom Mugavero’s direction. All congregation members are invited to bring a dish – just let Tom know what to expect.

Join Resurrection’s Sunday School

Sunday School families have been contacted to determine whether to meet this Sunday, January 15. If you have any questions about Sunday School please email Angie Brooke.

“Undecorating” the Church

A huge thank-you to the large group of volunteers who took down our Christmas decorations last Saturday – not only did the team put away the decorations, but it also set up a Seasonal Storage area for church decorations used once a year, reducing clutter and freeing up space.

A few orphaned Christmas poinsettias are still looking for a home – if you haven’t claimed yours, it is patiently waiting for you in the Narthex.

Holiday Lights Recycling through January 29

If you have holiday lights that are beyond repair, please bring them to church and put them in the designated box in the narthex. The Creation Care Team will take them to MOM’s Organic Market, which is accepting strands of lights for recycling through the end of January. A Better Way Recycling collects lights from MOM’s and breaks them down through smelting or shredding to recover raw commodities which are then used to create construction materials, car batteries, other electronics, flatware, jewelry, and more! You can visit https://momsorganicmarket.com/recycle-center/ and https://www.abetterwayrecycling.com/ to learn more.

Offering Envelopes Delayed

We continue to await the delayed arrival of Resurrection’s 2023 offering envelopes and regret the inconvenience of not having new envelopes to start the New Year. However, your offerings are still critically important to the church, so please use any unused 2022 offering envelopes for the next few weeks until the new envelopes arrive – just correct the date to the current Sunday. Your envelope number will remain the same for 2023.

If you don’t have any 2022 envelopes left, substitute envelopes without numbers can be provided. However, in order to ensure that your offerings are properly credited to you – especially cash offerings, please include your name on a substitute envelope along with designating what portion of your offering you wish to go toward the general fund, benevolences, or the building fund. Remember that contributions to the general fund may be used to cover any of the church’s expenses or programs, while benevolence contributions may only be used to support specific charities and ministries and contributions to the building fund may only be used to meet building needs.

Blue Recycling Bins

The Creation Care Team has placed several new blue recycling bins throughout the building. Please use these bins to recycle paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, and aluminum/steel cans. Please do not put anything else in the bins, including no plastic bags or paper towels. Thank you for supporting this program as we work to reduce the amount of trash collected at our church.

Help with Snow Removal

Winter is here – and Resurrection is looking for volunteers to help clear the sidewalks and entrances to the church after snowfalls. The Property Committee has only three volunteers thus far and more hands will make lighter work! If you live within walking distance of the church – or even a short, safe driving distance – and would be willing to help with snow removal, please speak with Ted Mortensen.

Member Information Form

Resurrection is continuing to work on updating its membership directory with the most current, accurate and preferred contact information. Member Information forms are available in the Narthex – we urge each member of the congregation to fill one out and return it to the church office.

Can't make it to church? Watch us Live! Now Livestreaming Worship

To view our 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship service on YouTube live, click on the live worship link on the RELC home page on Sunday mornings during the worship hour and be redirected to the YouTube live stream. The Live Stream will "go live" at 9:55 a.m. on each Sunday morning. To view the service at a later time, go to our YouTube Channel. Click on the videos tab to browse archives of past services. Click on the Subscribe button and create an account to be notified when Live Streams are started or when other videos are added. For any questions, please contact the pastor.

Intercessory Prayer During the Time of Pastoral Transition

During our pastoral transition, we will suspend the compilation of a formal and published prayer list. Our intercessory prayer lists are crafted and maintained by the pastor who receives names and who exercises pastoral discretion and care in relation to those named and those who name them. Without an interim or called pastor to generate and maintain the list and to follow up pastorally concerning those named, an intercessory prayer list would be challenging to maintain with pastoral integrity and sensitivity. That said, each Sunday’s prayers of intercession include a petition during which members of the worshiping assembly can call out aloud specific names of persons for whom they would like to pray, and during this time of pause, worshipers can also name persons in the silence of their hearts and minds. Please be assured that your prayerful intents and those of the whole worshiping assembly are heard by God.

Pastoral Care for Emergencies and Other Needs

Pastor Amy Feira has graciously agreed to be on call for members of the congregation to contact in case of pastoral emergency and other pastoral needs through the month of January. She may be reached at: (703) 303-9388 and/or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Other Announcements?

Alexandra Mattson, the editor of our now quarterly Steeple Light newsletter, is now also serving as the editor of our Weekly Announcements messages, working closely with Council President Glen Mason. If you have any items that you wish to communicate in the Weekly Announcements as committee chairs or those responsible for other ministry initiatives at Resurrection, please send them via email to both This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by late Wednesday mornings for inclusion in the message for the coming Thursday. Thanks!